Respect and Sportsmanship

Every day you go through obstacles that will push you to show unfairness, disrespect for others and a “sore loser” type attitude. For sportsmanship that is just the opposite of its meaning. If you are aware you show sportsmanship every day, whether it is playing a friendly game of basketball in your backyard or being a part of a school spelling bee. For over a decade people around the world learn and show sportsmanship. In the dictionary sportsmanship means one who plays fairly and wins or loses gracefully.
To me sportsmanship means a little more than just being nice after a game to the opposing team. It is the ability to keep composed when a situation arises. To be able to except a loss and not act out to make your team look bad. Sportsmanship helps maintain a good image in the competitive world today. It’s a value you have to have to show respect to your team and other teams. It’s your responsibility as a competitive person to show sportsmen like behavior. Outside the sports world you show sportsmanship everywhere.
Recently I went around asking a couple students what sportsmanship meant to them. Each one said something different, but they all generally said to show respect whether you win or lose. A great thought was sportsmanship applies to all disciplines. This one individual stated musically speaking; it meant if you are better than your cohorts. You should still open your ears to advice. To encourage people not to bring others down if they do something wrong. Sportsmanship is a kind of style and attitude and it has positive influences on everyone around you. If you win through bad sportsmanship, that’s no real victory. ” –Babe Didrikson Zaharias quotes. This is a great quote that really clarifies what sportsmanship is. Yes, winning is awesome but it isn’t awesome when you disrespect people and show childish behavior. That truly is not a real victory. You should win with passion, competiveness and drive. If you show sportsmanship by being unfair and not respectful, then you are not showing sportsmanship at all.